How many guys came to win vs Mike Tyson

They likely all came to win, but stepping through the ropes with him is when reality sets in. Knowing what is coming for you when it’s right in front of you is different than training in the gym and all the pep talks in the mirror.

 

Other than Spinks and Bonecrusher Smith, they all came to win.

Berbick tried to attack him. Don't tell me he didn't try. He just got outgunned.

Ruddock tried both times as hard as possible but failed.

Bruno attacked him and caught him but couldn't deal with the speed.

Tucker certainly came to win but after a couple of rounds, he realized he would get stopped if he kept attacking and then decided to keep it safe.

I think its a myth that Tyson beat guys due to intimidation. Once guys realized how much faster Tyson was then any other heavyweight, they would naturally go into a defensive shell. That does not mean they didn't come to win.

Berbrick, Thomas, Bruno, Ruddock, Tucker etc. all came to win. Some of them realized after a couple of rounds they didn't have a chance, they went into a defensive shell.

 

Bruno in the first fight and the inimitable Jose 'yeah, hell yeah' Ribalta...

Post Douglas. Ruddock is the stand out of the guys he beat.

 

100 percent. Even Tubbs was competitive until he was caught with a left hook. Carl Williams too.

 

Some of them came to win and stopped trying to win after experiencing Tyson's speed and went into survival mode. How much people want to credit Tyson for that or criticize the opponents is going to differ. It is a bit of both. People will take the extremes on both ends of that debate, but it is both.

 

Let's take a guy like ( a non-shot) Deontay Wilder and put him in Tyson's era. Get him a few easy opponents and build him up for a shot at Tyson. Throw him in there, he might last 1 round, he might last a lot longer, i think he would lose. But let's be honest - no one would be saying "he came to fight and then gave up", ... no, and we don't really 'rate' Wilder, do we? But we know he's going out on his shield, throwing bombs on his way out - and it's not even a debate.

 

I think most of his title challengers came to win. Even a few guys prior to that like Jose Ribalta and quick Tillis showed up to fight. The only ones who I think may have laid down to avoid a bad beating were some of the earlier trial horses he fought. If you YouTube some of those fights it’s clear that a lot of them did NOT want to be in there.

 

Jesse Ferguson, Jose Ribalta, James Tillis, Frank Bruno, Pinklon Thomas, Buster Douglas, Tyrell Biggs, Trevor Berbick, Tony Tubbs.

I'd say most of them it's a huge myth every Tyson was scared of him and didn't try and win.

 

He fought a lot of solid guys and I’m not sure why he is so underrated historically?

 

I think his 1980s run is one of the most astonishing feats in Heavyweight history TBH.

In his first 2 years as a professional he had over 20 fights going 10 rounds 3 times not to mention winning the world Heavyweight. Can you imagine any Heavyweight now having that kind of schedule ?

He also finished the decade with a record of 37-0 with 34 stoppages winning 10 world title fights and he achieved all that in just 4 years

 

That take sells a lot of those guys short and doesn’t give Tyson the credit he deserves for what he did in his prime.

Most of those fighters came to win — they just got steamrolled. Tyson was a monster back then. Fast, explosive, technically sharp, and he took guys out before they had a chance to get going. That doesn’t mean they came for a paycheck — it means Tyson took the fight right out of them.

Tony Tucker was undefeated and came to fight. Pinklon Thomas was a tough former champ who took hell trying to stay in there. Tyrell Biggs had an Olympic pedigree and was outboxing Tyson early until the pressure broke him. Bruno gave it everything until he physically caved. Mitch Green? That guy fought him in AND out of the ring.

Saying Spinks or Holmes came for a check is weak too. Spinks was 31-0, lineal champ, just completely frozen once the bell rang. Holmes was past it, sure, but he wasn’t mailing it in — Tyson was just too much.

Douglas pulled off the miracle, but let’s not act like he was the first guy who tried to win. Tyson made good fighters look like they didn’t belong. That’s what happens when you’re that dominant.

 

They all came to win. Even Spinks. I hate this "Tyson lost to everybody whocame to win against him" narrative.

 

Smith, Spinks, and Tubbs were paycheck collectors.

The rest came to win.